The Decline of the Conservatives Aim – to assess the role of youth groups upon the Conservatives

1. The Decline of the ConservativesAim – to assess the role of youth groups upon the Conservatives Standard starter – What groups put pressure upon the Conservative government and why? Super starter – How seriously did the pressure groups you know about affect the reputation of the Conservative government? • First we will look at four groups and then assess general movements and their impact on the Conservatives and future governments. • Do we have any youth groups today?

2. The Decline of the ConservativesAim – to assess the role of pressure groups upon the Conservatives First Case Study - The CND CND was formed in 1957 and since that time has periodically been at the forefront of the peace movement in the UK. November 1957, the New Statesman magazine published an article by J. B. Priestley on "Britain and the Nuclear Bombs", which was critical of Aneurin Bevan for changing his mind about nuclear weapons and ceasing to advocate unilateral nuclear disarmament by Britain. CND held an inaugural public meeting at Central Hall, Westminster, on 17 February 1958, attended by five thousand people. After the meeting a few hundred left to demonstrate at Downing Street. In Easter 1958, a 52-mile march from London to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston was organised by the Direct Action Committee, supported by CND after some initial reluctance. The march was the subject of a documentary by Lindsay Anderson, March to Aldermaston. Thereafter, CND organised annual Easter marches starting at Aldermaston and ending in London. 60,000 people participated in the 1959 march and 150,000 in the 1961 and 1962 marches. CND supporters were generally left of centre in politics. About three-quarters of CND supporters were Labour votersand many of the early executive committee were Labour Party members. The ethos of CND has been described as "essentially that of middle-class radicalism". Support for CND grew after the Cuban Missile Crisis. It dwindled after the 1963 Test Ban Treaty. From the mid-1960s, the anti-war movement's preoccupation with the Vietnam War tended to eclipse concern about nuclear weapons but CND continued to campaign against them. What were this groups main aims? How did this affect the Conservatives?

3. The Decline of the ConservativesAim – to assess the role of pressure groups upon the Conservatives The subculture started in London in the 1950s, and rapidly spread across the UK, soon becoming strongly associated with American rock and roll. They wore tapered trousers, long jackets and fancy waist coats which were mimicking the Edwardian style clothes of their grandfathers . Although there had been youth groups with their own dress codes called scuttlers in 19th century Manchester and Liverpool, Teddy Boys were the first youth group in England to differentiate themselves as teenagers, helping create a youth market. The US film Blackboard Jungle marked a watershed in the United Kingdom. When shown in Elephant and Castle, south London in 1956, the teenage Teddy boy audience began to riot, tearing up seats and dancing in the cinema's aisles. After that, riots took place around the country wherever the film was shown. Some Teds formed gangs and gained notoriety following violent clashes with rival gangs which were often exaggerated by the popular press. The most notable were the 1958 Notting Hill race riots, in which Teddy Boys were present in large numbers and were implicated in attacks on the West Indian community. The violent lifestyle was sensationalised in the pulp novel Teddy Boy by Ernest Ryman, first published in England in 1958. Teddy Boys Why did the Teddy Boys form and choose their characteristics? How may they affect the Conservatives?

4. The Decline of the ConservativesAim – to assess the role of pressure groups upon the Conservatives The Rockers Rockers were members of a biker subculture that originated in the United Kingdom during the 1950s. It was mainly centred around British cafe racer motorcycles and rock and roll music. Starting in the 1950s, the middle classes were able to buy inexpensive motorcars so that motorcycles became transport for the poor. The rocker subculture came about due to factors such as: the end of post-war rationing in the UK, a general rise in prosperity for working class youths, the recent availability of credit and financing for young people, the influence of American popular music and films, the construction of race track-like arterial roads around British cities, the development of transport cafes and a peak in British motorcycle engineering. What were this groups main aims? How did this affect the Conservatives?

5. The Decline of the ConservativesAim – to assess the role of pressure groups upon the Conservatives Mod (from modernist) is a subculture that originated in London, England, in the late 1950s and peaked in the early-to-mid 1960s. Significant elements of the mod subculture include fashion (often tailor-made suits); music, including African American soul, Jamaican ska, British beat music, and R&B; and motor scooters. The original mod scene was also associated with amphetamine-fuelled all-night dancing at clubs. From the mid-to-late 1960s and onwards, the mass media often used the term mod in a wider sense to describe anything that was believed to be popular, fashionable, or modern. At these venues, which Frith calls the "first sign of the youth movement", youths would meet collectors of R&B and blues records, who introduced them to new types of African-American music, which the teens were attracted to for its rawness and authenticity. They also watched French and Italian art films and read Italian magazines to look for style ideas.According to Hebdige, the mod subculture gradually accumulated the identifying symbols that later came to be associated with the scene, such as scooters, amphetamine pills, and music The Mods What were this groups main aims? How did this affect the Conservatives?

6. The Decline of the ConservativesAim – to assess the role of youth groups and counter-culture upon the Conservatives What does counter-culture mean?